[TO BE REWRITTEN] LEGENDS NEVER DIE {Trollhunters/Young Justice}

35 JIM 35

[A/N: It happened again...]

THE WEEKEND PASSED without incident.

That morning, Jim got up earlier than he ever had before. See, he had cooked almost all of Sunday to make everyone their favorites, taking extra care to slip some of the potion Strickler gave him into only the portions his friends would be consuming before carefully labeling, making sure that the team's lunch was away in the fridge without any doubt.

He carefully left a note in Steve's to cause a disruption towards the end of lunch once everyone had eaten-- preferably one that one of his ex-minions made.

--- --- ---

"I'm sorry, what?" Jim asked disbelievingly, arms crossed as he stared Strickler down.

Strickler gritted his teeth, sitting down gracefully. "Do you really think I enjoy giving you poison, Jim?! I wouldn't wish this on Bular, what makes you think I wish it on you?!"

This made Jim listen. Strickler was definitely one to stoop to poison, but he wasn't one for unnecessary noise. Everything had a reason, a purpose, with him. Strickler preferred messless, painless deaths. Even so, he had often bemoaned how quickly Bular had been finished. If he didn't wish this pain on the person he hated most, what did that mean for him and his friends.

Strickler sighs tiredly. "I've managed to cancel out most of the negative effects, but some of them can't without risking ruining it entirely. It shouldn't hurt you dramatically, just nightmares. They'll be mostly lucid. You'll be unable to alter it or wake up, but considering it will be your worst fear, maybe it will help." Strickler sighs as he sets a vas the size of his palm in Jim's hand carefully. "I wouldn't give this to you if there was any other way, Jim." He looked Jim directly in the eyes. "Don't tell your mother the dangers. Leave that to me. If you have to face your worst fears every night until I can give you the reversal elixir, I can face mine for one day."

--- --- ---

Those words had been what convinced Jim.

Strickler was willing to tell his mother (who he begrudgingly admitted that Strickler very obviously loved) that he had given Jim and the others (who she had all but adopted, mind you) what was practically poison, requested or not.

Jim knew the others wouldn't know what they were getting into, but right now, it didn't matter.

The potion didn't last long and in order to link the minds it had to be from the same batch.

Claire wouldn't say anything to Strickler about what she found past that it could ruin everything.
That it put everyone in and under Arcadia in danger.

That was enough to risk this.

Jim didn't shy away from Connor, though mostly because Jim felt like it would be wrong. Instead, he convinced him to help him cook all weekend and the two tried as many different foods as they could.

Connor turned out to love lo mein with a passion and devoured most of the dish, something that had made Jim laugh and ruffle his hair (which shocked the crap out of Connor, but he didn't seem to mind much). Jim's mom even managed to get off work around noon to have a huge lunch with the two, and even though it was mainly the Lakes telling stories to Connor, laughing hysterically and going off on tangents, leaving the quiet boy out of the conversation most of the time, Jim and Barbara pretended not to notice how he would smile over his glass of water.

"Hey, you need some help?" Connor asked quietly.

Jim jumped a bit, which made Connor frown in concern and slight suspicion as Jim braced himself against the counter behind him, breathing out a bit, heart pounding. For a moment, he scolded himself, not understanding why, until it hit him: the other side had never been this close to home before. "Yeah, sure."

Jim needed to be careful.